


Venti Double What?

by wasterella



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Swearing, lots and lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 09:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6001498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wasterella/pseuds/wasterella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Eren wanted was to go to Starbucks and get his complicated drink in peace. Was that too much to ask? Apparently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Venti Double What?

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Двойной Венти...Что?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13504185) by [Riren_team](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riren_team/pseuds/Riren_team)



> I need to stop writing stories about irl events on the bus... Especially since editing from an email is an biiiiitch.
> 
> Disclaimer: SNK © Hajime Isayama ; Starbucks © Howard Schultz ; Superman, Batman, Wally West & The Joker © DC ; Captain America, Spiderman, Iron Man & Deadpool © Marvel ; Pizza Hut © Dan & Frank Carney ; Name "Aech" is from Ready Player One © Ernest Cline.

** Venti Double What? **

Dammit, it was a new guy. He hated it when it was someone new, they never got his order right and it took them weeks to figure it out enough to give him the right drink.   
  
Maybe he should go somewhere else? But no, he was meeting someone and if he went somewhere else and came back, the horse would complain that he had to _wait_.  
  
He figured he could order something else. He didn’t _want_  to, but if he did he would get what he actually ordered. Then again, he was a paying customer so if they got his order wrong, in theory shouldn’t they have to remake it for him?  
  
The new guy looked grumpy though. Like, resting-murder-face-that-might-not-just-be-a-resting-face grumpy. He didn’t feel like getting murdered.  
  
But he wanted his drink, dammit! He’d been looking forward to it all day!  
  
Squaring his shoulders, Eren Jaeger walked resolutely through the Starbucks and up to the till, standing behind an elderly woman who was ordering a boring tea drink. He waited for her to get rung up and then moved aside so she could hobble away from him, the cup she held wobbling precariously in her shaky hands.  
  
Turning back to the till, he was once again nervous about the man’s grumpy “I will murder you for being here” face and stepped forward.  
  
“Hi there,” he said as cheerfully as he could, hoping it would lessen the annoyance he knew he would be eliciting from him. Why wasn’t fucking Hanji there? Hanji _always_  made his drink right!  
  
“What do you want?”  
  
_Okay, grumpy **and**  rude,_ Eren thought with an internal sigh, resisting the urge to drop his happy exterior. He once again contemplated switching orders, then decided he wasn’t going to get scared out of his drink!   
  
“Can I please get a Venti...” Eren began slowly, waiting for the man to grab a cup. He didn’t, so Eren paused, motioning the cups. “You’re, uh, gonna wanna write this down.”  
  
The jerk behind the counter just stared at him indifferently, almost challenging him to make his hardest drink yet. Well, wouldn’t be Eren’s fault if it came back incorrectly, and he would _not_  back down on getting it re-made if it came out wrong.  
  
“Okay. Fine.” He locked gazes with the other, green eyes boring into gray, and gave his full order. “I’d like a Venti white hot chocolate, double hot, with two pumps of raspberry, one pump of syrup, marshmallow whipped cream, chocolate and caramel drizzle and chocolate shavings.”  
  
He waited for the regret, expecting it to slowly begin to seep into the other’s face, but he just got a blank stare back before the worker’s eyes shifted to the screen in front of him, punching in Eren’s order.  
  
“It’s extra for the additional stuff.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
He waited for the price, knowing the exact amount for everything he’d ordered. If it was off by even a cent, it meant he would get the wrong drink.  
  
The total came up.  
  
It was perfect.  
  
_There’s **no**  way!_ Eren insisted, slowly pulling out one of his many Starbucks cards and swiping it when he was prompted. The usual barista, Hanji Zoe, kept harassing him to register it so he would get a gold card, but he was too lazy.  
  
“Name?”   
  
Eren looked up, wondering why the other was asking him that. He made a big show of turning around, making sure he really _was_  the only one there, then turned back to the worker.  
  
Evidently, that hadn’t been appreciated, because the next thing he said was, “Would you like some spit in your drink free of charge?”  
  
“Uh, no.” Eren glanced down when the machine beeped, confirming his payment had gone through.  
  
When he looked up again, the man behind the till had wandered away, presumably to get his drink started. Eren watched him while he replaced the card in his wallet and pocketed it, walking to the end of the counter where the drinks were distributed.   
  
He made sure to watch the other like a hawk, craning his neck whenever he half-turned away to make sure he didn’t get any “special” ingredients in his drink.   
  
Once the main part was done, the drink was brought closer to his end of the counter and set down before Mr. Murderous bent down to grab something from the fridge. He re-emerged with whipped cream, shaking it and then covering the top of the drink with it. This was followed up by the two sauces and the chocolate shavings before it was set down on the counter in front of Eren.  
  
“Suck it.”  
  
Eren was _positive_  he’d heard wrong, but the smarmy look on the other’s face made him feel like he hadn’t been hallucinating. What a colossal dickwad!  
  
If his drink tasted even one pump off, he was fucking asking for a new one!  
  
Taking the drink from the counter, he took a bite out of the whipped cream on the top—the correct one, marshmallow—and then slowly took a tentative sip.   
  
Perfect. Dammit, it was fucking spot on!   
  
Now he was annoyed, but he just scowled at the dick’s back and headed for the table at the far corner. Taking a seat, he turned the cup to look at the instructions section but it was blank, just as he’d suspected. He had no idea how the jerk had remembered all that.   
  
Pulling out his History assignment, he started looking through one of his source books. He was still in discussion with his TA on his essay topic, so he couldn’t actually _start_  it, but he’d taken a few books out anyway in case he was approved. He was looking through the first book when the horse finally wandered in, moving right over to the table and dropping his bag on the chair. It thumped loudly against the wooden seat, suggesting he had also raided the library for some books.  
  
“Felt like my fuckin’ shoulder was gonna break!” Jean Kirschstein rubbed at the shoulder in question, rotating it slightly before wandering away.   
  
Eren watched him approach the till, he and the worker having a very brief chat before Jean paid. When he returned to the table, he set down a latte and Eren noticed the instructions section blank again.  
  
_He must have an auditory version of a photographic memory,_  he decided, turning back to his book and tapping his pen against the table.   
  
“New guy’s kinda prickly,” Jean commented.  
  
“Yeah, but he got my drink right on the first try.”  
  
“Seriously?” Jean’s eyebrows shot up, drink halfway to his mouth. “Nobody gets it right the first time.”  
  
“Well, he did.” Eren glanced over at the worker again, seeing him on his phone, leaning back against the counter behind him. “But yeah, kind of a dick.”  
  
“Yeah, I believe it.”  
  
Eren flipped through a few more pages of his text before checking his phone, relieved to see an email from his History TA. He read through it before sending back a thanks, along with some additional information, and then put his phone away so it wouldn’t distract him.   
  
“He’s not even doing anything,” Jean muttered. “He’s just chillin’ over there.”  
  
Turning to see what Jean was talking about, he found the worker still leaning back against the counter, arms crossed and head turned towards the door.  
  
He was good looking, Eren supposed. Too short, but he seemed toned and his eyes were nice. He had a similar haircut to Jean, sporting an undercut but his top layer was longer than his friend’s. All in all, he was attractive.  
  
Eren was still staring when he noticed the man turn to look at him and he hastily turned away, feeling heat rising in his face, embarrassed at being caught.  
  
Hunkering down, he focussed on his book and spent the rest of the night working on finding source material for his paper.  
  


* * *

  
When Eren walked into his usual Starbucks two days after Mr. Prickly’s first appearance, he was relieved to see Hanji at the machines. The ass was still there, manning the till, but at least Hanji would make good conversation.  
  
The only downside was that it was busier than usual today. He saw one empty spot at the end of the bar along the window, but otherwise it was full.   
  
Setting his bag down in the empty spot, he figured Jean and him could find another seat for his friend later, he was still in class anyway. For now, one seat would do, he’d deal with the second seat when it became applicable.   
  
Moving to the small lineup at the till, Eren checked his phone and texted a few people back while he waited to reach the front.   
  
“Eren! You live!”  
  
He glanced up and offered Hanji a grin over the top of the machine they were working at.   
  
“Not my fault you haven’t been working, I’ve been driving Mike insane the past few days.”  
  
“Eh, Mike’s a big boy, he can handle it.” The barista tapped the metal jug they were using against the counter before pouring its content into the waiting Starbucks cup and wandering to the other end of the counter. “Tall soy latte for Thomas.”  
  
“You gonna stand there all day, or are you ordering something?” an annoyed voice snapped.  
  
Eren’s eyes shot back to the dick behind the till, realizing the line in front of him had disappeared. He hurriedly moved forward just as Hanji moved back to the same side of the counter, starting on the next drink but close enough so they could speak without yelling across the coffee shop.   
  
“So, how’s it going with the boyfriend?” Hanji teased.  
  
“Jean’s not my boyfriend Hanji, I have better taste than that,” Eren insisted with a sigh, once again regretting having admitted his sexual orientation to the barista. They asked about his sex life every chance they got and Eren didn’t even know what  _gender_  they were.   
  
An imbalance of information sharing, in his opinion.  
  
“Oi shitty-brat, I haven’t got all day.”  
  
Eren scowled at the other, annoyed he was being a dick again. There was literally no one behind Eren, he wasn’t holding anyone up. _Ass probably wants to get back to checking his phone,_  he thought.   
  
“Can I get a Venti white hot chocolate, double hot, with two pumps of raspberry, one pump of syrup, marshmallow whipped cream, chocolate and caramel drizzle and chocolate shavings. And uh, one of those ham and Swiss fold-overs.”  
  
“Warmed up?” the other asked while punching everything in.  
  
“Yeah, thanks.”  
  
When he was prompted to pay—by the machine, not the worker—Eren swiped one of his many Starbucks cards while the worker grabbed a Venti cup.  
  
“Name?”  
  
There were more people today, so he couldn’t react as he had the last time, not that it mattered since Hanji knew his drink _and_  his name.  
  
“Eren,” he said. “It’s spelled—”  
  
He cut off because the other had already written something down and slammed the cup on the edge of the counter for Hanji. The instructions were blank again.   
  
Catching sight of his name, he was somewhat startled to realize it was spelled correctly. Most people when they heard “Eren” spelled it the conventional way, “Aaron.” Having someone spell it correctly was weird.  
  
He didn’t know what to say so he just turned and awkwardly walked to the end of the counter, Hanji still finishing off the previous person’s drink. It looked like some kind of lemonade.  
  
“I see you’ve met our newest ray of sunshine,” they said to him while shaking the iced drink before pouring it out into a cup and slapping a lid on it.   
  
“Yeah, he’s a real treat,” Eren muttered. “He threatened to spit in my drink last time I was here.”  
  
“You probably deserved it,” Hanji said with a grin, putting the finished drink up on the counter with a straw. “Grande peach lemonade for Christa.”  
  
“Not really,” Eren insisted, continuing as if there had been no interruption. “What’s his deal, anyway? He obviously doesn’t wanna be here, so why is he?”  
  
“Favour to the boss, I think. We’re short-staffed and he used to work at Starbucks in high school so he knows most of the drinks and tills. Since it’s a franchise and all, it’s easy to hire someone temporarily.”  
  
Hanji moved to grab Eren’s cup and then gave the newbie a look. “Seriously? We’re not _all_  freaks of nature like you.” They waved the empty instructions in his face, the latter on his phone again, then turned and began pouring milk into one of the metal jugs. “Is it two syrup, one raspberry?”  
  
“Two raspberry, one syrup,” Eren corrected. “I’m insulted, _how_  many times have you made this drink?”  
  
“I serve a lot of people, I forget things.”  
  
“But I thought I was your favourite,” Eren insisted with a fake pout.  
  
“Oh sweetie, you _are_  my favourite,” Hanji insisted. “But only when you’re on your knees with my dick in your mouth.”  
  
Eren saw the other worker freeze in whatever he was doing by the counter, but it seemed to be more out of interest as to how Eren would respond as opposed to being horrified at what Hanji had said. Eren himself was used to it from the other, so he just snorted and learned forward on the counter.   
  
“Do you even _have_  a dick?”  
  
“Wouldn’t _you_  like to know?” Hanji winked at him.   
  
“Not really.” Eren heard beeping and saw the other worker shove his phone back into his pocket before opening the large toaster oven they had. He’d forgotten about his fold-over until it had been pulled out. It was dropped onto a plate before Mr. Friendly wandered over to Eren.  
  
“Here.” The plate clattered when it hit the counter in front of him and the other walked away before Eren could even send off a half-hearted thanks.  
  
“Wow, he isn’t working often is he? I might lose my happy-go-lucky charm,” Eren muttered, Hanji pouring out his drink and then grabbing some whipped cream.   
  
“Every day until the end of next week, and then off and on until December twenty-eighth,” they advised, finishing up and grabbing the chocolate shavings.   
  
“Great,” he groused. “Wait, wait! Caramel sauce first, _then_  shavings!”  
  
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Hanji set the chocolate shavings down and poured caramel sauce overtop his drink before grabbing them once more.   
  
When his drink was all ready to go, he thanked them then headed for his seat, carrying his drink and his fold-over. It had gotten a little cooler from the wait for his drink, but he devoured it all the same, pulling out his readings for History and beginning to look them over. He checked his phone again, still waiting on an email from his TA about his paper.  
  
Nothing yet, but he was usually pretty good at responding quickly so he put his phone away and began working. An hour and a half later, Jean showed up and hung around the bar Eren was sitting at since there were still no seats available.  
  
“I hate it when people just chill out at Starbucks for hours,” he grumbled, glaring at a group of girls doing homework at a nearby table.  
  
“Uh, isn’t that what _we_  do, too?” Eren asked, dropping his pen and leaning back in his seat, rubbing at his eyes. It was impossible to work with Jean yammering away beside him.   
  
“No, we buy like, ten drinks every time we come in here! We’re good, honest, paying customers!”  
  
“Uh huh,” Eren said simply.  
  
“Oi, Hanji!” Jean turned and wandered towards the counter, most probably to ask the barista to chase people away so he could sit down somewhere.  
  
Eren checked his phone again while he thought of it, sighing in relief when he saw a response from his TA.   
  
It said his paper was good to go, so he thanked him profusely before putting his phone away and returning to his paper.   
  
Jean still didn’t have a seat.  
  


* * *

  
The third time Eren wandered into the Starbucks, Mr. Sunshine started ringing him up before he’d reached the till. The fourth time, the total was already waiting for him. Each and every time after that, Eren walked in to find his drink total waiting and the drink itself already being worked on.  
  
Hanji seemed to take offense to this, mostly because Eren razzed them on not being loved enough to warrant that level of service from them. Hanji insisted if they had the newbie’s memory, they would have been doing it a long time ago.   
  
Every time, the drink was perfect, and while the new guy was still prickly, he was less of a dick most of the time. He was often doing things on his phone, and Eren always saw him scowling, like the words on his screen offended him.   
  
“So what’s his name?” Jean whispered to Hanji one day while the new guy made the drinks, their usual barista on till for once.  
  
“You know, I have no idea,” was Hanji’s cheerful response. “He won’t say.”  
  
“He won’t say?” Eren asked slowly. “Is that even allowed? How can he not say?”   
  
Hanji just shrugged, crossing their arms and leaning closer, whispering conspiratorially. “We all call him Mr. Sunshine, but the boss says we can call him Aech.”  
  
“Aech?” Eren asked, the name sounding like the letter “H.”   
  
“Yeah. Apparently he’s got a nickname. Humanity’s Strongest or something. It’s from high school, so a bunch of his friends call him Aech. I guess Humanity’s Strongest is too long to say.” They shrugged.  
  
“Huh.” Eren saw the new guy—Aech, he supposed—putting his drink down on the counter so he thanked Hanji and wandered over to it, grabbing it with a nod of thanks and moving back to his table.  
  
Less than a minute later, Jean was beside him with his own drink.  
  
“Kind of a self-serving nickname, don’t you think?” he asked while sipping his drink, then setting it down so he could pull his books from his bag.   
  
“It depends how he got it,” Eren insisted with a shrug, tapping his pen against the table.  
  
“I guess.” Jean didn’t sound convinced, but he obviously couldn’t be bothered to keep arguing about it. They had papers to write. “Hey, did the TA get back to you on your paper?”  
  
“Mm.” Eren nodded, talking a sip of his drink and licking whipped cream off his lips. “Yeah, a while ago.”  
  
“Really? Did he approve your topic?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“What the fuck?!” Jean demanded, obviously annoyed. “I’ve sent him seven emails this past week alone! He keeps rejecting my topic, and it takes him  _forever_  to reply!”  
  
“Really?” Eren was surprised. Their TA usually replied to any of his emails within a few hours. The longest it had ever taken him was 3 hours, and he assumed it was because he probably had a life. “Well... I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe he chews over your topics for a longer period of time.”  
  
“It’s annoying! How am I supposed to get started if the dick won’t approve any of my topics?!”   
  
Eren didn’t know how to respond to that. He felt bad for Jean, but it wasn’t like he could get him a reply any faster. His proposal was logged under his name so if he asked for Jean’s approval, his own would get replaced.   
  
“Maybe try and catch him after class or something?” he offered, not sure what else to say. “Or go to his office hours?”  
  
“I’ve never seen him in class, have you?”  
  
Eren shrugged. “I don’t know what he looks like.”  
  
“Me neither...”  
  
Well, that wasn’t helpful to either of them. He also felt like every time he, personally, had gone to the professor’s office hours, he’d been redirected to the TA’s office, which always had a note on it telling people to email him. There was no other way to get in touch with him, that Eren knew.   
  
“What’s got your smile upside down, little colt?” Hanji asked suddenly, appearing beside them and plopping down in an empty chair. They were either bored or on break, it was hard to tell with them.   
  
“Our history TA is a dickwad!” Jean said angrily. Eren scowled at him, since he was being rude and there were a few other people present, but Hanji didn’t seem to care about anything other than _why_  he was a dickwad.  
  
“I’ve emailed him tons of times for approval on my topic and Eren emailed him like, three times and is already working on it!”  
  
“Maybe my topic is just better than yours,” Eren insisted, trying to come to his TA’s defense. “I mean, I email our TA all the time about the class in general, so maybe my topic is just spot on because we have so much back and forth all the time.”  
  
“Really?” Hanji asked with a grin. “You email your TA all the time?”  
  
“Our prof’s an idiot, I’m not even learning anything!” Eren insisted. “The TA does a better job teaching that class via short emails. If I didn’t need this course for my major, I’d have dropped it after the fourth class. Thank God for the TA is all I can say.”   
  
“Aw, is he like, your buddy?” Hanji asked teasingly.   
  
Eren just ignored them. He seriously would _not_  be passing this course if it weren’t for the killer TA. He was always patient and sent Eren all of the professor’s slides. Sometimes he felt like he may as well not go to class at all, but he didn’t feel like that would be fair. He had to make the effort or else he was just taking advantage of his TA.  
  
“Why don’t you email him for Jean?”  
  
“I can’t,” Eren said, sipping at his drink and licking his lips again. “Mine’s already approved, if I email him another one, he’ll think I changed it.”  
  
“No, I mean, email him _for_  Jean. Like, tell him Jean’s been waiting for a reply.”  
  
“Hey, yeah!” Jean perked up immediately. “What if you did that? I can send you my last email to him and you can cc me in your email so he knows it’s cool to discuss it with you.”  
  
“Don’t you think that’s a little uncool?” Eren asked, absently checking his phone. He had a text message from his sister, but he ignored it for now. “I don’t wanna piss him off.”  
  
“Dude.” Jean put his hand on top of Eren’s. “I need to start my paper. It has to be fifteen pages. I cannot write fifteen pages overnight. I need my approval.”  
  
Was he a bad friend for admitting he didn’t want to? Eren felt like Jean had to be exaggerating, he’d probably been waiting a few hours and was getting antsy. Eren understood that, but he definitely didn’t want to abuse his relationship with the TA.   
  
“If he doesn’t reply before the end of the night, I’ll email him for you.”  
  
There. Compromise.   
  
“Okay, fine,” Jean muttered, going back to what he was reading.  
  
Hanji tried to linger for as long as possible but neither boy acknowledged them while they worked so the barista went back to their prison with Mr. Sunshine, aka Aech.   
  
They’d been doing research diligently for close to two hours when Jean’s phone went off. He checked it, grunting that it was their TA and it was about fucking time, and then exploded so loudly that Hanji _did_  tell him to watch his mouth before they cleaned it out with soap.  
  
“He rejected my topic _again_!” Jean insisted, turning his phone around and thrusting it into Eren’s face. “What am I doing wrong?!”  
  
Forcing Jean to pull back a bit, Eren took his wrist and moved the phone to a more convenient distance so he could read the email.  
  
He saw both sides of this, because Jean’s topic was _good_ , but it didn’t really follow the convention of the class. So he could empathize with Jean, but he also respected his TA’s call. After all, the one grading them was the professor, the TA knew him best and was trying to help people pass.  
  
“Well, maybe you’re just not picking the right topic,” Eren insisted. “What was your last topic?”   
  
“The military drafting during World War I.” That was fairly similar to his current rejected topic: The different military factions during World War I.  
  
“Yeah, see that’s not really gonna jive with this class.”  
  
“It’s a history class!” Jean insisted. “I’m talking about history!”   
  
“Yeah but, the wrong kind. Why don’t you write about, I don’t know, the industrial revolution?”  
  
“Why don’t I stab myself in the eye with my pen instead?” Jean countered, holding up his pen and giving Eren an unimpressed look.  
  
Shaking his head, Eren grabbed Jean’s phone to look through all his rejected topics, trying to get a feel for Jean’s interests while keeping in mind the TA’s perspective on the matter.   
  
He and Jean brainstormed ideas for a good half hour until they found one that the horse was relatively interested in writing and that Eren thought would work out with the TA.   
  
“Oi, shitty-glasses, I’m leaving,” Aech called through the shop, halfway out the door by the time he’d even begun calling out.   
  
“Bye bye!” Hanji called back jovially from somewhere in the back.  
  
“He’s such a dick sometimes, I don’t get him,” Jean muttered while typing up an email to the TA with his new topic.  
  
“Maybe he needs to get laid,” Eren offered with a grin.  
  
“Who’s getting laid?” Hanji appeared as if by magic, making both boys jump. Jean cursed when he banged his knees against the underside of the table.   
  
“We’re talking about how Aech probably _isn’t_  getting laid,” Eren clarified, watching Jean mutter to himself while he typed on his Iphone.  
  
“Probably not,” Hanji agreed, sighing sadly while looking towards the door. “He’s got a really cute butt though.”   
  
“He’s pretty good looking, not gonna lie,” Eren admitted, Jean snorting while putting down his phone.  
  
“You really like the assholes, don’t you, Jaeger?”  
  
“You know snorting like that makes you sound like a horse, right?” Eren shot right back. His comment seemed to annoy Jean more than the other’s had annoyed Eren.   
  
“We’re closing up soon, boyos!” Hanji said, stretching with a grunt and wandering back towards the counter. “Start packing up. I’ll give you some free brownies.”  
  
“Sweet, I love free food.” Jean grinned. “Are they pot-brownies?”  
  
“Sadly, no. Just regular brownies.”  
  
Eren rolled his eyes and stuck his notebook between the pages of the library book he’d borrowed, keeping his spot and shoving both items into his bag. He began clearing up the table of their mess, Jean doing the same, when the latter’s phone went off.   
  
Jean picked it up and checked it, then let out a loud whoop before turning it towards Eren. It was an email from their TA, and it only had one word.  
  
_Approved._  
  


* * *

  
It took Eren exactly six weeks and 39 of his special Venti drinks to finish his paper. That was just the one paper, though, so while that time frame and number of beverages was accurate for his History paper, the true number of drinks probably exceeded that given he had more than one paper to write.  
  
Aech worked less frequently by the third week Eren was working on that one particular paper, but he always had the night shift when he _did_  work, so Eren saw him every shift given he practically _lived_  at that Starbucks.  
  
Eren had no self-discipline and the coffee shop was only five minutes from his dorm. It made for easy access, not to mention it was nestled between two buildings and not many people seemed to know it existed so it was almost always empty. Or, less busy than other places, anyway.  
  
When he walked into the small shop the day after submitting his paper to his TA for review, he found Hanji and Aech in the middle of a very heated discussion, both of them looking furious. He almost hesitated walking up to the counter, especially since he was literally the only person present. If one of them killed the other, he would either be an accessory for not stopping them, or a witness that needed disposing of as well.  
  
Two guesses which of the two would consider him a witness.  
  
“Stop hovering by the door like a moron,” Aech suddenly snapped, shoving past Hanji and snatching up a Venti cup, beginning to make Eren’s drink.   
  
Concerned, the student slowly wandered towards the till, eyes darting back and forth between the two. He stopped in front of Hanji, who still managed to smile brilliantly, despite clearly still being angry.  
  
“Hi,” he said slowly. “Everything okay?”  
  
“Can you believe this fucktard,” they motioned Aech with a jerk of their thumb, “likes fucking DC over Marvel?”  
  
_Wait, what?_  Eren stared at Hanji, confused. _That_  was what they were fighting about? It looked like he’d walked into the makings of World War III and it was about comic books?  
  
“DC has _much_  better characters!” Aech snapped, appearing at the till with Eren’s drink and practically hip-checking Hanji out of the way so he could ring up his order.  
  
“Uh, Marvel has actual _character development_ ,” Hanji countered. “ _And_  they’re consistent. New 52, anyone? All the characters in DC got a major overhaul, they’re completely different now. Consistency is key.”  
  
“Okay,” Eren interrupted, pointing his Starbucks card at Hanji but still not having paid. “I will give you that the New 52 is shit in terms of character fuck-ups, but DC will always be better than Marvel.”  
  
Hanji looked like they’d been slapped, bringing one hand up to their chest while Aech smirked triumphantly.  
  
“Et tu, Eren?” Hanji asked hoarsely.  
  
“You know what? Free drink today.” Aech’s hand moved across the screen and Eren’s total disappeared.  
  
He would’ve felt happier if Hanji didn’t look so betrayed.  
  
“I’m sorry, Hanji, but there’s not very many awesome and worthwhile characters in Marvel.”  
  
“I can’t believe you chose _Superman_  over _Captain America_!” they insisted, still looking severely offended.   
  
“Um, excuse you,” Eren pointing his card at Hanji again, “Fuck Superman. DC has _Batman_ , okay?”  
  
“Well _Marvel_  has _Spiderman_.”  
  
“Did you _seriously_  just compare Batman to _Spiderman_?” Aech asked, looking incredibly pissed off again. “I should bitchslap you.”  
  
“Marvel characters have so much _depth_!” Hanji insisted. “Name _one_  DC character that’s actually witty and comical like Iron Man is.”  
  
“Wally West,” both Eren and Aech said at once. Eren found it funny they’d both thought of the same one given there were multiple different comical characters in DC.   
  
“Okay, well give me a character _half_  as awesome as Deadpool,” Hanji countered, crossing their arms.  
  
“That’s an unfair comparison, there isn’t a DC character that breaks the fourth wall,” Eren argued.  
  
“Not true, early age DC broke the fourth wall all the time, most notably with someone you may have heard of,” Aech said mockingly to Hanji. “Goes by The _Joker_.”  
  
“Oh shut up, he’s a villain, he doesn’t count,” Hanji snapped.  
  
“Deadpool’s an anti-hero.”  
  
“Yeah, note the word _hero_  still in there.”  
  
Eren seriously thought fists were going to start flying in a minute and was actually somewhat relieved when the door opened and two girls wandered in. It defused the tense atmosphere and Eren finally managed to move away from the counter with his free drink. He found it kinda funny that Aech had given it to him for free _just_  because he liked DC over Marvel, but he was appreciative all the same.  
  
Things seemed to have calmed down after the girls had paid and sat down, Hanji and Aech stopping their argument by staying at opposite ends of the counter. Hanji was restocking supplies and Aech was cleaning various dishes. Eren noticed him clean the same blender four times.   
  
Pulling out some of his homework, he worked on that for a while before starting in on his study notes for History and English. He had midterms coming up in both and wanted to get good grades or he wouldn’t be able to pursue his major. In History, obviously, since English was a required course he’d been putting off since first year. Why were English classes even mandatory? It was dumb.   
  
Sighing in defeat, he decided to tackle his English notes first and opened a fresh page in his study book so he could begin revisions.  
  


* * *

  
Aech had become slightly less prickly as time went on. He was still a dick, but once it was clear he was just naturally antisocial and grumpy, he and Eren got along great. He always had Eren’s drink ready when he walked through the door, and even occasionally managed to have Jean’s done when he knew he was coming.   
  
They spent one evening playing Cards Against Humanity for shits and giggles between studying when the place was dead. Hanji had ended up winning, with Aech behind by one point and Jean trailing by eight. Eren had been decimated, earning only two points for himself.  
  
When they got their History papers back, Eren was thrilled to have gotten a 92% on it, with their TA’s comments below indicating their recommended grade had been a solid 95%. Apparently the TA reviewed and graded them and the professor read them afterwards and put the final grade. While he was choked not to have the 95%, he was pretty happy with the 92%.   
  
Jean’s final grade on the paper had been an 81%, with the TA’s recommendation at 90%. A bigger difference between his and Eren’s, but at least they’d both done really well. And thankfully, Jean had managed to forgive their TA for being “unhelpful.”  
  
Virtually right after receiving their papers back, Eren and Jean began studying for finals. Hanji and Aech were around less frequently by then; Eren knew Hanji was still in school, and he assumed Aech was, too. They were likely studying just as much as Eren and Jean were.   
  
Eren hoped that he saw Aech again before his last shift, mostly just because he wanted to thank him for being the only one to never mess his drink up, _ever_ , but he also felt like he’d honestly miss him. Not to mention he was nice to look at.  
  
When Hanji came in for a shift a week before exams started, they confirmed that Aech would be around until past Christmas, so Eren just focussed on studying and getting through his classes in one piece.  
  
All of his exams were clumped together in one week, and he was ripping his hair out with stress. He thanked whatever higher powers may be when Aech was around the day before his English final because the barista kept giving him free drinks. Which he needed. A lot.  
  
He was so hyped on sugar he’d had a hard time falling asleep but when the crash hit he passed out and didn’t wake up again until his alarm went off.  
  
One _incredibly_  stressful exam week later, and Eren was finished, cheerfully wandering around campus with various friends while they headed to their next exams. Jean was particularly distressed every time Eren saw him.   
  
After walking his friend to his Anthropology exam, Eren headed for his usual Starbucks and waved at Mike Zakarius when he entered.  
  
“Hey Eren. Exams done?”  
  
“Yup.” He grinned. “Just chillin’ out now. Figured I’d come by and get something to eat.” He’d also brought a book, like a nerd, wanting to wait for Jean so they could go and have dinner downtown right after his exam.  
  
While heading for the counter, Eren caught sight of Aech sitting at one of the secluded tables in the back corner of the coffee shop. He started to head in that direction, but Mike called him back.  
  
“He’s been there since this morning. Ymir had the opening shift and said he came in right at open. Been sitting there ever since, getting food and tea every few hours.”  
  
“What’s he doing?” Eren asked, the two of them staring at Aech.  
  
“Who knows?”   
  
The other worker was wearing faded jeans and a black hoodie with a white and green patterned design along the left breast. He had his head down and earbuds in, music so loud Eren could hear the buzz of it from the counter. His table was littered with papers, and Eren wondered if maybe he had failed an essay or a class and was trying to make up for it.   
  
“It’s probably best to just leave him alone,” Mike suggested. “What can I get you?”  
  
“The usual,” Eren grinned, which earned him a sigh before the tall man slowly began inputting the order as Eren recited it.   
  
He didn’t stay long, drinking his hot chocolate and eating a cookie. After two and a half hours, Jean knocked on the window and motioned for him to get a move on. Eren called goodbye to Mike then exited the small shop, casting one last look at Aech.   
  
He hadn’t moved, and somehow, his piles of paper seemed to be getting bigger.  
  


* * *

  
“Freedom!” Jean cheered while he walked out of his final exam, Eren keeping in-step beside him. “Oh, smell that fresh air, Eren! Do you know what that smell is?”  
  
“Vomit and piss?” Eren asked, since that was legitimately what it smelled like where they were walking through.  
  
“ _Freedom_ , Eren! You’re supposed to say freedom!”  
  
“Oh, sorry. It smells like vomit, piss and freedom.”  
  
Jean shoved him playfully, but grinned nonetheless, the two of them heading back towards their dorm. They were going to stop in at Starbucks to grab some drinks first, but their plans involved a lot of pizza and some video games. Jean just really needed his coffee and Eren figured he’d just grab something while he was there.  
  
“Oh hey, did you see we got our grades already for some classes?”  
  
“I did!” Eren grinned. “Actually, all of mine have already come in, since I finished my exams two weeks ago.”  
  
“Nice. How’d you do?”  
  
“Really well, actually.” He thrust one fist in the air. “87% on History!”  
  
“Dickwad, I only got 71%. You were totally banging the TA.”  
  
Eren just waggled his eyebrows with a grin, the two of them laughing while entering Starbucks. They always compared their History grades because it was the one class they both had together. Eren knew he’d only done better because he’d been harassing the TA, but he was still thrilled he passed with such a good grade.  
  
While a part of him wondered if it was the TA showing favouritism, he reminded himself that the professor gave the final grade no matter what the TA said, so he’d earned his pass.   
  
“Well look who it is,” Jean said with a grin, moving up to the till. “Haven’t seen much of you lately. Where’s your better half?”  
  
“You mean the moronic psycho with a death wish?” Aech asked, already ringing through their orders. “Dead.”  
  
“So your hellish ride here’s almost over, huh? Last day’s coming up next week.”  
  
“It got extended,” Aech said, clearly unhappy about it. “He almost got on his knees begging me to stay.”  
  
“Sweet!” Jean nudged Eren. “Free drinks.”  
  
“And for that comment, never again for you,” Aech informed him, motioning for Jean to hurry up and pay.  
  
He did so, with much grumbling, but Eren just chuckled and leaned against his friend so he could see over his shoulder  
  
“So, got plans for Christmas?”  
  
“I’m Jewish.”  
  
“Oh.” Eren suddenly felt uncomfortable. It was extremely common for people to neglect the fact that Christmas wasn’t celebrated by everyone, but Eren had always felt like he was very conscious of others. This had just tossed that out the window.   
  
“It’s my birthday on that day, anyway,” Aech continued, as if acknowledging Eren felt bad and was telling him this in an attempt to change the topic.  
  
“Your birthday’s on the 25th?” Jean asked. “Neat-o! Do you get double presents then?”  
  
Eren made a face and shifted so his forehead rested on Jean’s shoulder, embarrassed _for_  him. Had he not been listening?  
  
“You got mud in your ears, dumbass? I said I’m Jewish.”  
  
“So? What does that have to do with Christmas?”  
  
“It means he doesn’t celebrate Christmas,” Eren whispered, straightening and shoving Jean away. “Go stand over there. Just—go.”   
  
Jean shrugged and wandered away, Eren shaking his head in disbelief. When he turned back to Aech, he found him gone, the other having started on their drinks. Eren could only assume he was getting a free drink, so he went to join his friend, punching him hard in the ribs when Aech wasn’t looking.   
  
That earned him an elbow to the gut and the two had a mini fight behind Aech’s back, being sure to stop whenever he looked their way.   
  
“So,” Eren forced out, his lungs aching from the punch to the chest he’d gotten, “what are you doing on your birthday?”  
  
“Hanging out,” Aech replied. “Beer, pizza, bad movies. Trying to see about having someone over, nothing big.”   
  
“That sounds like fun.” Was it weird Eren wanted an invite? Probably. But weren’t they kinda friends? He wanted to go drink beer and eat pizza and watch bad movies.  
  
Jean’s drink was finished first, and Eren joked about whether or not Aech had added his “free ingredient” to Jean’s coffee. Aech smirked, assuring him he hadn’t, but Jean was now scared to drink it because he didn’t know what the free ingredient was supposed to be.  
  
Eren doubted Aech would _ever_  spit in someone’s drink, but it was funny to watch Jean sweat.  
  
When the second drink was placed on the counter, the two students wished Aech a good night and left the shop, sipping at their drinks while leisurely heading back to the dorms.  
  
“We should order Pizza Hut and get that giant cookie dessert thing they have,” Jean exclaimed excitedly.  
  
“Sure, I like cookies.” Eren took a sip of his drink, but paused when he caught Jean frowning at him. “What?” he asked, licking whipped cream off his lips.  
  
“Did he actually write your order down?”  
  
“Huh?” Eren looked at his cup and could see black sharpie lines peeking out around his hand. Switching his grip so he could see what was written, Eren stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at his cup.  
  
“What? What’s it say?” Jean leaned over to see, and the two were silent.  
  
On his cup was a series of numbers, very obviously a phone number, with a messily scrawled message beneath it.  
  
_Call me - Levi Ackerman  
  
_ “Did he just...” Jean trailed off. “Dude, does Aech _like_  you?”  
  
“I... don’t know?” Eren kept staring at the cup while Jean checked his own for a message. Upon finding none, the only logical conclusion was that, yes, Aech _did_  like him. Or, Levi did, rather.  
  
“Levi Ackerman,” Jean said slowly “Why do I know that name?”   
  
Eren didn’t answer him. He’d recognized the name the second he’d seen it, that being part of the shock in his case. Aech was Levi Ackerman? So that day Eren had walked in and seen him working... he wasn’t studying furiously for an exam, he was _grading_  them!   
  
“ _Why_  do I know that name?” Jean muttered, seemingly unaware of the magnitude of Eren’s shock.    
  
“Because he’s our History TA.”  
  
“What?” His friend gave him an incredulous look. “No way!”   
  
Jean pulled his phone out, having to stick the end of his glove between his teeth to get it off so he could type his password. Eren shifted his gaze to watch, knowing he was right but still needing confirmation.  
  
Levi Ackerman’s last email to Jean only had the word “approved” in it.  
  
“Holy shit!” Jean turned to Eren. “Aech is our History TA! Dude, our TA gave you his _number_!” Jean laughed almost hysterically, like he was both thrilled and manic. “I called him a dickwad to his _face_! He probably spit in my coffee…”  
  
“Still gave your paper a 90%, though.”  
  
“Dude!” Jean hit him in the chest with the back of the same hand holding his phone. “This is awesome! You can help him stop being so sexually frustrated!”  
  
“Hardee har,” Eren insisted, turning back to stare at his cup. “But why wait until now? It’s been four months, why give me his number now?”  
  
“Because he’s not your TA anymore, obviously.” Jean began walking again, putting his phone away. “Can’t bang one of your own students. Well, I mean you _could_ , but it’d be morally wrong.”  
  
“He doesn’t wanna bang me!” Eren insisted, hurrying after his friend while pulling out his own phone.   
  
“He gave you his number, and not both of us. He wants to bang someone, and it ain’t me.”  
  
Saying nothing, Eren hesitated while staring down at the message he’d just typed up. He stopped in front of the dorms with Jean, the other digging for his key, and took a deep breath before sending the message.  
  
**[JaegerMeister]  
** So... your birthday’s on the 25th... am I invited?  
  
The response was instantaneous, as if Aech—Levi—had been staring at his phone, waiting for something to happen.   
  
**[Aech - Levi]  
** You’re the only one invited  
**[Aech - Levi]  
** If you want to come, I mean.  
  
Eren took a second to follow Jean into their building, needing to get the text out before he lost his nerve. Typing it up, he quickly sent it before shoving his phone into his pocket, as if to convince himself nothing had happened.  
  
His burning face and racing heart made that hard to believe.  
  
**[JaegerMeister]  
** Guess I’m gonna need your address then.  
  
His next Venti specialized drink from Starbucks was going to be _very_  interesting.   
  


**END.**

**Author's Note:**

> So this actually happened to me, except without the long drawn out story. I went to SB and left with a drink from the barista with their name and number on it. I feel guilty for throwing it out ^_^;; But I'm actually thinking it was a social experiment to see how many people would call..........
> 
> Also, HUUUUUUUUUUUGE~ thank you to Rosanticis for the awesome art they did to accompany this!!! Please check it out and show them love here: http://wasterella.tumblr.com/post/141407902754/rosanticis-fixed-the-arm-that-was-too-long
> 
> They also did another set, BECAUSE THEY ARE CRAY! THANK YOU! http://rosanticis.tumblr.com/post/141658306364/scenes-from-venti-double-what-by-wasterella


End file.
